The Perfect Slave

Ruby picked at her salad, trying to spear a particularly robust tomato with her fork. It exploded into a mass of green seeds and goo, making her grimace and drop it to the plate.

The clattering of metal on china alerted the attention of her mother who looked over with a thin smile and asked if everything was okay.

"I’m just not hungry," Ruby said, looking down at her food.

Earlier that day, Amber had pointed out the inch of fat around her middle, pinching it between her finger and thumb before telling her to sort it out.

"I can't have a fat best friend," Amber had said, curling up her top lip in disgust. Ruby poked at the flesh around her midriff and looked across the table at Amber, recalling her friend’s cruel barb.

"Greg! Dinner!" Mum shouted for the seventh time. The low hum of music from above disappeared, replaced with thudding footsteps. Greg seemed to be incapable of walking down the stairs without creating the sound effect of elephants tumbling down a cliff top. It was one of his many annoying qualities that she was going to have to live with from now on.

He sat down at the table, looking at the dinner her mother had made for him with a confused frown for a moment before picking up the cutlery.

"Thanks, Sam," he said only once he’d felt the weight of her expectant stare.

"You’re welcome, Greg," she said. "Your Dad is just getting the last of the boxes and then he has to return the van to work."

Ruby watched as Greg nodded with disinterest and attacked his salad, salmon, and potatoes with the same lack of enthusiasm as Ruby. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her mother, who had taken the time to cook a meal from scratch to see it go to waste.

Amber, who used her house as a second home, was picking around the fish, just eating the salad. To Amber, being fat was just as bad as having fat friends. She was very self-restricting when it came to food and fastidious about her exercise routine.

Ruby was about to apologize for not eating all her food when she felt a sharp pain in her shin. Looking around the table with accusatory eyes, she found it was Amber who had kicked her and was now giving her a very pointed look and signaling toward Greg.

"Oh, sorry," Ruby gasped. "Greg, this is my best friend, Amber. Amber, my stepbrother Greg."

"Hi, Greg. It's nice to meet you," Amber said with a wide smile.

He looked at her and frowned. "Hmm. Amber and Ruby. Is that a coincidence or did you two decide to be friends based on your names?"

Amber turned to Ruby, grabbed her hand, and flashed him one of her dazzling smiles. "We bonded over our names and have been inseparable ever since."

"Oh," Greg grunted. He rolled his eyes ever so slightly as he turned back to his plate, indicating the end of the conversation.

Amber did not take the hint.

"So tomorrow will be your first day of school. I’ll let you sit at my table at lunch if you ask me nicely," she said. It was clear she was trying to be flirtatious, but it came off sounding arrogant. The way she said “my table” as if Ruby and her other friends were esteemed guests of Princess Amber.

Thinking about it, this was fairly accurate, though Amber was more the queen than a princess. Queen ruler of the school.

'Why is she flirting with Greg, though?' Ruby wondered. He was most definitely not her type. His style looked similar to the alternative kids she was always ragging on at school, with black hair, piercings, and dark clothing. He did have a pleasant face, but it was mostly hidden behind his hair.

"I think I'll manage to find my own friends." Greg screwed up his face. "But… erm, cheers for the offer."

Amber stared at him for a moment, open-mouthed and gawking, as though she couldn't fathom his response. She wasn't used to rejection.

As Mum passed out the dessert—chocolate mousse cake—both Amber and Ruby decided a little slice couldn't hurt, their eyes lighting up at the sight of the fluffy chocolate desert.

Greg picked up his plate, turning to her mother to make a face behind Amber's back. "Mind if I take this to my room?"

"Okay," Mum agreed. "Just make sure you bring your plate down after."

Usually, the pair would hang out in the living room after dinner, hoping Mum would open a bottle of wine and let them have a glass. Amber loved to hang out with her Mum. She was young, pretty, and fun, according to Amber, whose mother was in her sixties, divorced and, according to Amber, boring.

Today, Amber grabbed her by the hand and yanked her upstairs, meaning she had something private to discuss.

'I already know what it is,' Ruby thought with a weary sigh. 'She's going to bitch and moan about my rude stepbrother as if it's somehow my fault.'

Everything was Ruby's fault, even if it wasn't. That was a reality she had learned to live with from an early age.

"Oh my God," Amber started. "Your stepbrother."

"Yeah, he's..."

"Perfect!" Amber cried.

Ruby did a double take.

"What?" She frowned.

"He is so freaking gorgeous! How could you not tell me about this?" Amber said.

'Here comes the blaming and moaning...'

"Erm, well, I don't see him that way," Ruby explained.

"Really?" Amber seemed dubious. "How can you not see it?"

Ruby had to explain how her stepbrother, aside from the fact that he was indeed a family member, did not fit her type—a type Amber should be familiar with since they often both had the same crushes. They both went for the tall, toned, and tanned guys, the more athletic the better.

Greg was not athletic. He hated most sports besides football, and he was about as far from tanned as you could get. Aside from the fact he was taller than most guys his age, he did not fit the criteria.

For the next few hours, Amber garbled on about all of Greg's amazing qualities, both real and very much imagined, and mined Ruby for information about his likes and dislikes.

When it was time for Amber to leave, she had a last request before going home.

"You have to ask him out for me," Amber demanded.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked.

"Why not?" Amber asked, her pretty face turning dark. "Don't you want me to date your stepbrother?"

"Oh, it isn't that!" Ruby gasped, terrified of upsetting her friend.

"Well, what's the problem then?" Amber asked.

"I just don't see how he's good enough for you," Ruby said. It was a tactful move, flattering her and putting her off in one fell swoop.

"I think I can decide who is good enough for me," Amber scathed.

After taking a deep breath, Amber smiled and jumped up onto her feet. "Okay, I'm off. Message me when you've done it."

Her blonde ponytail bounced as she did an excited little jig and waved.

Once alone, Ruby turned to her mirror and made a horrified face at her reflection.

This situation was a mess and she sensed it was only going to get messier. There was no way Greg liked Amber—he'd left the table to get away from her.

'But if he says no, I will be to blame,' she realized.

Greg was sat in front of the television, playing a first-person shooter, and basically hogging the entire living room. Not that Ruby was in any position to complain. She had a favor to ask.

'I'll pretend it's not a favor,' Ruby decided. 'I'll make out as if he's the luckiest guy on the planet.'

"So, what did you think to my friend, Amber?" she asked.

Greg pulled off his headset, flashed her an annoyed looked for interrupting him and asked what she wanted.

"Did you like Amber?" she repeated.

"Your blonde mate?" Greg asked and made a puking gesture.

"She's the most popular girl at school, and she wants to go on a date with you," Ruby continued with a wide grin, still trying to make the idea sound appealing.

His face said he wasn't falling for it.

"Hard pass," he uttered before slipping his headset over his ears and continuing to shout instructions to his friends.

Letting out a dejected sigh, Ruby figured she had no choice but to let Amber know. The girl had been pestering her to ask since last night, and there were only so many excuses she could make.

"He said no," Ruby typed and put a load of sad face emojis.

"Why?" Amber typed back almost instantly.

"He thinks it would be weird to date my friend," Ruby lied. If she told the truth, it would only make Amber lash out in anger, and when that happened, it was Ruby who bore the brunt of it.

"Then convince him it won't be weird," Amber typed.

Tutting, Ruby realized the lie was a mistake.

"What now, what now?" she muttered to herself.

"I'll do my best," she replied.

After a few moments, Amber sent a threatening message, warning her that her best had better be good enough to change his mind.

"If you get in my way, we won't be friends much longer, then he won't have to worry about it being weird," the message read.

Ruby knew from experience that the threat wasn't an idle one. After a fight over a boy they both wanted, Amber had frozen her out for weeks, convincing all their other friends to do the same. Her clique wasn’t exactly nice to the other students at her school, meaning she had no backup friends or even associates to hang out with. She'd been forced to sit, eat and study alone for those horrible days.

'All because he chose me over her,' Ruby thought.

She had never fully trusted Amber or any of her other friends since then, even after Amber “forgave” her and let things go back to normal. Being part of the toxic “in crowd” had its advantages, but it was also very lonely and scary when you knew you were one mistake away from being ostracized. Like walking on eggshells.

Greg was still playing his game when Ruby approached him with a cup of tea—only a drop of milk and two sugars, just how he liked it.

"Gimme two minutes, lads," he said, slipping his headset off and looking at her with suspicion.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked.

"I'm always nice to you," Ruby replied. This was a lie. A blatant and pointless one.

She pulled up her sleeve to hold the hot cup and offered him the handle.

"Have you poisoned it or something?" he asked as he accepted it. After taking a sip he nodded. "Very nice, thank you."

Ruby took a deep breath. "About my friend Amber, she really isn't as bad as she seems when you first meet her. And you have to admit she is very attractive and sexy."

"I'm not interested," Greg said, regarding her with suspicious eyes.

"Maybe you could give her a chance?" Ruby smiled and nodded.

"Why?" he asked.

It was a fair question, but what was she supposed to say? So I don't get kicked out of the popular group for failing to get Queen Amber a date with you?

Greg took another sip and placed the cup on the antique coffee table next to the coaster instead of on top of it. A couple of rings had appeared on her mother's precious table, yet she wouldn't complain to or about Greg. Making him and his Dad—Ron—feel at home here was of the utmost importance, according to her mother.

"Well, she's my friend, and she really likes you," Ruby said. It was the truth. Not the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but this was her living room, not a court of law.

Greg let out a scoffing sound, almost spitting his mouthful of tea in her face. "Really likes me? I literally said one sentence to her."

"I guess she thinks you're hot," Ruby said and shrugged with far too much enthusiasm.

"Whatever," Greg said. "She's not my type."

"Will you give her a chance anyway?" Ruby asked, eyes wide and pleading.

As she persisted, he cocked his head and squinted at her, becoming suspicious.

"Why?" he asked again.

"We just went over this," Ruby said, tired of talking in circles. All she wanted was for him to say yes.

An idea occurred to her.

"I'll pay for the date," she offered. "And you can swap bedrooms with me. I know you want the big room."

It was a great offer, but it only made him more suspicious.

"Why would you think that? I like the box room. It's cozy," he said.

This had to be a lie—that, or he had changed his mind on the topic. Yesterday, she'd overheard him complaining to his Dad about the size of his new room. He hadn't wanted to move here and was punishing his father by complaining about every tiny little thing.

"You can have my TV in your room?" Ruby offered.

"Where?" he scoffed. "Can it levitate?"

"Good point," Ruby said, looking down in deep thought. What else could she offer him?

"I'll pay you," she said at last, smiling like a maniac.

He looked at her like she'd just offered to give him a naked lap dance. "Look, I appreciate the tea and all the generous and borderline creepy offers, but it's not going to happen. Sorry."

Giving up for the moment, Ruby trudged back off to the kitchen. She began to tidy and clean, sweeping up a pile of rice someone had spilt and left for someone else. It was probably Ron. He loved to cook more than he liked to clean up after himself. A foible Mum found cute now but was bound to tire of before long.

As she rubbed the last grains from her sweaty palms, the doorbell rang.

'Please don't be Amber,' she thought.

As she pulled the door open, her stomach was in knots.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hello?" the young man replied in the same questioning tone. The first thing she noticed about him was the shape of his lips—top heavy and downturned. He looked like a young Johnny Depp.

Young Johnny Depp was an obsession of Ruby's. She would watch his films on repeat, despite being terrified of Freddy Krueger.

The guy on her doorstep had lighter hair, and his brown eyes had flecks of green, but there was a strong resemblance.

'I need to stop staring like a lunatic,' Ruby realized.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Lucas, just come on in!" Greg shouted from the living room.

Lucas looked at Ruby with a patient smile, waiting for her to move and let him inside.

"Oh," she uttered, stepping to the side and holding the door open for Greg's guest. "D-do you want a cup of tea or coffee? I just boiled the kettle."

"Coffee would be great," he said.

"He takes it without milk or sugar because he's a psychopath," Greg shouted to her, making his friend laugh.

The pair of them bumped fists before Greg pulled the taller boy in for a hug.

"I miss you so much," Greg cried.

"It's been two days," Lucas said in a deadpan voice. "And I only live an hour away."

As Ruby placed the coffee on one of the wooden coasters, she noticed the way Greg was fawning over the guy and wondered if he might be gay. That would be super convenient.

"Alright, alright, she's going to think we're lovers," Lucas said, pushing Greg away and dashing Ruby's last hope.

‘I’m kinda glad this visitor is straight,’ Ruby thought, checking him out with her peripheral vision. He was tall, even taller than Greg, and his chest muscles were visible beneath his t-shirt as he shifted, getting comfortable on the sofa.

She took the space spot on the sofa and checked her messages to find a couple from Amber.

"Well, what did he say?" and simply, "Well?"

She could see the little wheel spinning, telling her that Ruby was typing.

'What can I say?' Ruby thought.

In a panic, she typed, "He said yes!"

The wheel stopped spinning for a second before it continued and the words, "Yay, great!" appeared.

'Yay, great,' she thought, looking at Greg with a guilty smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, looking increasingly perturbed. "What did you do?"

"I told her you said yes," Ruby said, breathing out the sentence in one quick burst.

"What's this?" Lucas asked. As Greg filled him in on the situation—not painting Amber in a very generous light—Ruby made her best puppy dog eyes at him.

"Well, you're gonna have to tell her you lied," Greg said at last.

"I can't," Ruby protested and pushed out her bottom lip.

"Well, I think she's going to figure it out when she turns up to the date, and he's not there," Lucas said.

Ruby glanced down at the phone and saw a ton of messages from Amber about what to wear and where to take him. She felt a prickle of guilt over getting her friend’s hopes up. This was so much worse than just telling her no, she realized, but it was too late to take it back.

"She's so excited," Ruby said, hoping she could guilt him into saying yes.

"Why did you tell her I said yes?" Greg asked.

Both Greg and Lucas turned to regard her, hungry for an explanation.

"I don't know." Ruby shrugged. She didn't want to admit she was terrified of her only real friend. "I just... figured you would change your mind."

Neither boy was satisfied with this explanation, and it showed on their faces.

"Oh, please, please, say you'll go," Ruby begged, running out of options, but he shook his head slowly.

"I'll do all your chores, your homework, anything." Ruby pressed her palms together. "Please?"

Greg and Lucas exchanged glances.

"Explain why you seem so desperate, and I might consider it," Greg offered.

After a long, drawn-out sigh, Ruby proceeded to spill all the details of her friendship with Amber and the other two girls—Scarlett and Rose. Both Scarlett and Rose were nice enough on their own and even as a couple, but when Amber was in the picture, they became vicious and would always pick Amber’s side. She explained what had happened when Tom Grady flirted with both girls but ultimately chose Ruby.

Looking back, Tom had treated them both cruelly and deliberately played the girls off each other. Ruby did her best to avoid him these days, but he was always there, lingering about with his annoyingly sexy face.

'Tom is ugly next to Lucas,' she thought, her mind running off track temporarily.

She looked up at the boys, who had remained silent during her speech.

"Look, I know I've been a bitch to you, and you have no reason to help me out, but please could you do this for me? You might even have a good time with her," Ruby asked.

Greg said nothing, just stared at her with a strained, pitying smile.

Ruby pictured what Amber’s face would look like when she found out about the lie. She could see everything unfolding in her mind's eye. The three girls looking at her like she was the devil, telling her she no longer had the right to be in their group. Like last time, the other, not-so-popular kids would gloat and join in with the bitching and sly looks, and she would be forced to hide away, eating her lunch in the toilet with only the graffiti and smell of urine for company.

That sick, dreadful sensation came flooding back. Nobody could make you feel quite so worthless and disgusting as her crew of popular girls.

Tears formed behind her eyes, and before she could force them away, the warm little droplets tumbled down her cheeks.

"I'm begging you," she said, pleading with her eyes. "Please say yes."

"I'm sorry—" he started to say.

"Please, Greg," Ruby cried. She flung herself from the sofa to the floor with dramatic flair, kneeling at his feet. "I'm begging on my knees, please, please, say yes."

As she stared up at Greg, she saw the indecision in his face.

"When?" he asked after a world-weary sigh.

"Tonight?" Ruby said, squeezing her hands together in prayer and giving him her most winning smile.

He turned to his friend with a questioning look.

"It's okay. I can go," Lucas said.

"No, we were supposed to hang out this weekend," Greg argued.

"Hmm," Lucas looked down at Ruby. "I'm sure your stepsister will entertain me while you're out with her friend, right?"

"Uh, erm," Ruby stammered. The way he was looking at her made her nervous. Plus, the way he worded it... entertain him? What was he expecting her to do?

She nodded, deciding it didn't matter. Anything was better than the alternative, and a night with Greg's insanely hot friend was just an added bonus.

'What's the worst that could happen?'